


A New Beginning

by addiction1510



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Baby Gems, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Redemption AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-15
Updated: 2015-11-15
Packaged: 2018-05-01 17:14:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5214152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/addiction1510/pseuds/addiction1510
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steven and Connie go to a concert in her old and busted up car. However, once they reach their destination, they realise Steven forgot the tickets. The two return to his home, dejected, only to find the beach house dark and the air smelling like ozone. Worry pushes them forward, and what they find forever changes their worlds in a big way.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A New Beginning

The crunch of shifting sand underfoot filled the air as the two forms walked across the beach. It was momentarily silent, aside from the waves crashing on the shore and the slight noise the sand made. There was a brief moment of tension, both wanting to say something to start the conversation, before Connie took the initiative.

 

"Its okay that you left the tickets at home, ya know. I'm not mad." Steven glanced down for a moment when she started talking, thinking the night so far over. It was all his fault they weren't at the concert right now, and instead going back to the beach house. Sure, they could have rode Lion to and from the arena inside of driving Connie's beat up and old- but still safe!- car, and maybe they would have been able to make it back in time, but the pink cat was getting older, and so were they. Whether his age actually affected the lion, Steven couldn't be sure, but theirs certainly did. They were both bigger and taller, no longer the children they had met as, and he wasn't exactly small back then. Nor was he now. It was all his fault they weren't at the concert, all he had to do was remember the tickets. A sigh escaped him as his thoughts ran, and he shrugged uselessly.

 

"I still feel bad. We spent all that money on the tickets, and on gas. It isn't every day that you get the chance to see--" he started, furrowing his brows sadly as he stared at the ground in front of them.

 

"Steven," Connie said sternly, interrupting him before he could say another word. He pouted, crestfallen, until he noticed why she had interrupted him. Her free hand was pointed at the dark beach house in which he normally resided. The gems would normally wait for him when he went out late, the lights left on to guide him home across the beach. However, tonight they were off. The entire place was completely dark, and almost looked... singed in the moonlight. His heart thudded in his ears as he exchanged a brief look with Connie.

 

"You should go," he started, but she cut him off before he could say another word.

 

"No. I'm staying. You don't know what's going to happen when you go in there, and I'm not leaving you to deal with this." He stared at her and she stared back. He wanted to argue, but wasn't sure he really wanted her gone. The gems weren't really one for surprises, not since Lapis had accidentally set the house in fire while trying to bake a cake for his fourteenth birthday. As memorably and surprising as that had been, they all agreed to no longer try surprising him. He was grateful for that, but now, he almost wished they had never agreed to do so. It would have made this easier.

 

With a resigned sigh and a small nod, they both rushed to the house and up the stairs. Glass crunches underfoot as they hurried up the steps, and Steven briefly hoped that it wasn't as bad as it seemed. However, fear flooded him as he reached the top step and saw his home up close. The windows were shattered, blown outwards, and the screens ripped to shreds. The front door hung crooked on its hinges, open as if to usher him inside. A curtain blew through the front window, the fabric burned black and swaying in the ocean air. He briefly smelt ozone, and something else he couldn't quite name. His stomach rolling, he pulled Connie to the open door and peered in catiously, gripping her hand tighter. With the moonlight pouring in through the broken windows, he could see the burned state of the walls. Everything was pitch black, even the warp pad and the temple door. Every inch of the home was burned, and left him feeling sick. However, something wasn't right. Where were the gems?

 

"Steven, look," Connie gasped quietly, though her voice slammed into him in the silence and felt as if she was yelling. The hand not gripping his pointed, drawing his attention to something he hadn't seen before. On the floor directly in front of him sat two infants, one purple, and one orange. They were tangled together, wrapped in a ball of hair, and almost seeming to be sleeping. He noticed another pile, three little ones curled together by the remains on the coffee table. A broken device sat near them, and he could briefly see a shift of green under the blue and pale pink atop it. By the broken warp pad, two more laid. One was blue, and one red.

 

A broken laugh escaped him, despite himself. It started off quiet, but quickly grew in volume and thickness, until he was sure it would suffocate him and choke him into nothing. He could feel Connie staring, but ignored it, letting go of her hand and looking around frantically. "Alright, Amethyst, you got me! Great joke, real funny! I don't know how you got every one to play along, or how you knew we'd be coming back, but its a good joke! You win! Shapeshift back now!"

 

The infants stirred, shifting and whimpering at the sound of his voice. Connie stepped closer, putting a silent hand on his shoulder as the tears started bubbling up. This wasn't funny, and deep down, he knew something was wrong. Why would everyone play along with her jokes? Pearl hated them, and it would have been impossible to get Garnet to split up. Connie's voice lulled him back to reality, making the tears streak his cheeks upon her saying what he could only hope wasn't true. "Steven... I don't think they're joking..."

 

"I...I know," he said softly, hanging his head as a broken sob slipped free. Somewhere in the broken and burned home, one of the infants joined his cries, joined by the others one by one, until the quiet was no more, reigned by tears of loss.

 


End file.
